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Norwegian postpones the deliveries of 14 Boeing 737 MAX 8

Oslo - Norwegian is continuing to delay airplanes on order due to financial difficulties. The Europe’s third largest low-cost operator had already postponed the delivery of some Airbus A320neo planes. The airline now announced that it had reached agreement with the US aircraft manufacturer to postpone the delivery of 14 Boeing 737 MAX jets.

The decision followed a previously announced agreement with the European aircraft manufacturer to postpone the deliveries of an unspecified number of Airbus A321LRs.

The delivery delays are part of a restructuring plan to shift the focus of the airline from growth to profitability, said the airline in a statement. Norwegian aims to reduce capital expenditure by $2.1 billion over the next two years.

The fleet management strategy of the budget carrier was complicated after worldwide groundings of Boeing 737 MAX jets due to two fatal accidents in which the aircraft type was involved. Norwegian has already asked Boeing for compensation for its losses caused by its grounded MAX 8 jets.

Yesterday, Boeing announced a $1 billion loss during the presentation of 1st quarter results due to the ongoing 737 MAX crisis.

Norwegian currently has 18 Boeing 737 MAX planes in its fleet, and 80 more on order.

Today, the airline is expected to present its results for the first three months of 2019.